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Research paper
Why local concepts matter: Using cultural expressions of distress to explore the construct validity of research instruments to measure mental health problems among Congolese women in Nyarugusu refugee camp
This mixed-methods study presents an innovative additional method for assessing the local “cultural fit” of globally used tools for measuring mental health in cross-cultural research.
Research paper
A Perturbed Peace: Applying Complexity Theory to UN Peacekeeping
Drawing on experience working and conducting fieldwork in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this article argues that UN peacekeeping operations should view themselves as actors within the complex conflict ecosystem, looking to enable transformational…
Research paper
Lakes as Rebellious Landscapes: From ‘Fishing Rebels’ to ‘Fishy State Officials’ in DR Congo
This article discusses the frictions that emerge when the management of Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo tries to retake control of Lake Edward through infrastructural and military interventions. These interventions not only encounter resistance from multiple rebel groups…
Research paper
Is translocality a hidden solution to overcome protracted displacement in the DR Congo?
Policy makers and practitioners usually focus on three durable solutions for IDPs to overcome protracted displacement; return, resettlement and local integration. Based on empirical realities, this paper asks to what extent translocality can be seen as another solution. Drawing on…
Research paper
A qualitative study to explore dietary knowledge, beliefs, and practices among pregnant women in a rural health zone in the Democratic Republic of Congo
This paper shows that various social, economic, and environmental factors within the local community influenced dietary practices among pregnant women in rural DRC. A comprehensive approach is required to improve nutrition, and address food insecurity, cultural practices and improve the…
Research paper
“Tokowa po ya ekolo”: The Military Body Within the Congolese Army
This article explores the conceptualization of the body among former Congolese soldiers living as refugees in Johannesburg. The article draws on extensive fieldwork in Johannesburg, South Africa and employs the concept of deterritorialization and reterritorialization to explain the bodies of…
Briefing
MONUSCO’s Mandate and the Climate Security Nexus
If we translate the debate on the climate security nexus to a more operational level, we inevitably arrive at the question of whether and to what extent the fight against climate change should be included in the mandate of current…
Research paper
Divisive ‘Commonality’: state and insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Northern donor policies relating to building a common future and building peaceful states and societies go to the heart of national and international security agendas. This article critiques the concept of commonality between donors and recipients and within recipient countries.…
Background report
Do Local Agreements Forge Peace? The Case of Eastern DRC
The end of the 1998-2003 Congolese war was symbolised by the signing of the ‘All-Inclusive Agreement’ in December 2002. However, due to the continued proliferation of national and foreign armed groups and unaddressed community grievances, this agreement did not bring…
Background report
« Ils sont rentrés chez eux »: the political dimensions of displacement and ‘spontaneous return’ in Faradje, northeast DRC
This paper aims to contribute to the emerging debate on the political dimensions of return by focusing on the sudden ‘spontaneous’ return of 11,6001 Congolese refugees who were forced back from exile in South Sudan to their home areas in…
Working paper
Going home? A systematic review of the literature on displacement, return and cycles of violence
Starting from the complex reality of return, this paper recognizes that cycles of violence, displacement and return are intimately related and often inherently part of one another. This paper offers a critical overview and discussion of scholarly and policy-oriented literature…
Field notes
The Bukavu Series: Toward a Decolonisation of Research
This is a collection of blog posts produced by 30 researchers based in eastern Congo and Europe, where writers critically reflect on the research they’ve done and explore ethical dilemmas when conducting research in conflict-affected areas.
Briefing
Beyond Anarchy: Property, Precarity and Land Governance in Urban Congo
In the brief, we argue that these references to “anarchy” and “disorder” should not to be taken at face value. Instead, they are produced through daily practices of land governance.
Background report
Roadblocks ‘at the rhythm of the country’: Predation and beyond in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
This report analyses the phenomenon of roadblocks in South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Departing from a socio-anthropological approach, the report argues that roadblocks are sites where a variety of state and non-state actors interact with each…
Background report
Vacuum Governance in Eastern DRC: Understanding the Social, Economic and Security Dynamics of Shabunda
Vacuum Governance in Eastern DRC: Understanding the Social, Economic and Security Dynamics of ShabundaThis report investigates the social and security dynamics in Shabunda territory (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Located in westernmost South Kivu province and bordering Maniema province, Shabunda…
Briefing
Constructed Anarchy: Governance, Conflict, and Precarious Property Rights in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Land issues are at the heart of the Congolese conflicts. Land issues have mainly been analyzed as a rural phenomenon. More recently, however, scholars have shown that land issues are crucially important in urban areas as well. In this Congo…
Background report
Aid Seen from the Bottom: Community realities and representations of aid in Eastern DRC
This report investigates community perceptions of the actions carried out by NGOs working to address intersecting crises in Eastern DRC, in Kalehe and Uvira (Ruzizi Plain) territories. These two areas are characterized by a significant presence of humanitarian, development and…
Research paper
Identifying transferable lessons from cholera epidemic responses by Médecins Sans Frontières in Mozambique, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2015–2018: a scoping review
Cholera epidemics occur frequently in low-income countries affected by concurrent humanitarian crises. Evaluations of these epidemic responses remains largely unpublished and there is a need to generate evidence on response efforts to inform future programmes. This review of MSF cholera…
Research paper
‘The response is like a big ship’: community feedback as a case study of evidence uptake and use in the 2018–2020 Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) took place in the highly complex protracted crisis regions of North Kivu and Ituri. The Red Cross developed a community feedback (CF) data collection process through the work…
Research paper
Contesting the crisis narrative: epidemic accounts in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Scientists and global commentators watched African countries closely in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, predicting an impending disaster: the virus was projected to overwhelm already weak health systems. These expectations were informed by imaginaries of Africa as an…
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics and Healthcare in West Nile, Uganda
Against the backdrop of on-going preparedness work in Uganda as related to the outbreak of Ebola in DRC, this brief summarises key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics and health structures and behaviours in the West Nile sub-region of north-west Uganda. It…
Research paper
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: why there is no ‘silver bullet’
Following the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which started in August 2018, there were a number of extraordinary firsts and successes. But why, despite these, was the outbreak still ongoing after 20 months? This…
Background report
Crise foncière et réponses des acteurs en République Démocratique du Congo fr
À l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo, le foncier est un réceptacle de violence, participant structurellement à la fragilité de la cohésion sociale. Bien que l’État congolais, les acteurs non étatiques et les bailleurs de fonds se soient engagés…
Background report
Aid Seen from the Bottom: Community realities and representations of aid in Eastern DRC
Africa’s Great Lakes region has been plagued by deadly armed conflicts for almost three decades, resulting in internal and international displacement. Marked by issues of governance, natural resource management, land grab- bing, and food insecurity, Eastern DRC is at the…
Briefing
From Biolegitimacy to Antihumanitarianism: Understanding People’s Resistance to Ebola Responses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Despite the devastating impact of the Ebola pandemic which emerged in eastern DRC’s North Kivu in 2018, local populations seemed skeptical about its existence. This led to significant local resistance to the medical response, including armed attacks and violence, which…
Working paper
Figurations of displacement in the DRC: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Congolese IDPs
This working paper is based on empirical research on translocal figurations of displacement in the DRC, and reports findings from eastern DRC, where many internally displaced persons (IDPs) seek refuge in host communities. It explores the central question: “How are…
Report
Driven apart: How repeated displacement changes family dynamics in eastern DRC
This paper considers how the phenomenon of repeated displacement affects dynamics within displaced families and their ability to cope with the consequences. The analysis is based on data collected in Masisi (North Kivu) and Fizi (South Kivu) in 2015, including…
Research paper
Everyday Justice for the Internally Displaced in a Context of Fragility: The Case of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Bukavu is a rapidly growing city in the conflict-affected east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is home to large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs). This article looks at these IDPs and explores the strategies they use to…
Research paper
Motivations of men and women for migration to artisanal and small-scale mining sites in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) sites in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) present livelihoods opportunities within an evolving security situation, thus offering the potential for economic and physical security. This paper presents survey data detailing reasons why men and…
Research paper
“This mine has become our farmland”: Critical perspectives on the coevolution of artisanal mining and conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The debate on conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been widely documented by the international media, government and non-governmental agencies and academics. In recent years, a variety of international initiatives have been launched to curb…
Research paper
Family planning knowledge and use among women in camps for internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
This study describes family planning awareness and needs among internally displaced women residing in the Mugunga camps in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. A cross-sectional survey of women from the Mugunga camps in March 2014 revealed that…
Research paper
The counterinsurgency/conservation nexus: guerrilla livelihoods and the dynamics of conflict and violence in the Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
The growing militarisation of nature conservation has refocused attention on the relations between counterinsurgency and conservation. This contribution analyses how these two phenomena entwine in the Virunga National Park, located in the war-ridden east of the Democratic Republic of the…
Working paper
Hosting New Neighbors : Perspectives of Host Communities on Social Cohesion in Eastern DRC
Situations of forced displacement create unique challenges for social cohesion because of the major disruption of social dynamics among both displaced persons and host communities. This paper uses a sequential mixed method approach to analyze the relationship between hosting displaced…
Research paper
Multi-layered Security Governance as a Quick Fix? The challenges of donor-supported, bottom-up security provision in Ituri (DR Congo)
This paper investigates ‘multi-layered’ security governance arrangements developed in the restive Ituri province in north-eastern DR Congo, where different forms of insecurity affect people’s lives on a daily basis. It looks more specifically into ‘multilayered’ security governance in Ituri’s capital…
Thesis
Finding peace amongst restless and unatoned bones: a dialogue on Bumúntú from the Democratic Republic of Congo
This thesis invites the reader on a journey to Kamina, the capital of the Haut-Lomami province, DRC, to engage in a dialogue on humanness, violence and peace from another angle. Using the concept of Búmùntù (authentic Personhood) from the Luba…
Research paper
Reintegrating former fighters in the Congo: ambitious objectives, limited results
Current scholarly works in International Relations grew increasingly preoccupied over the effectiveness and programmatic failure of international assistance, especially with regard to issues pertaining to the ‘security–development’ nexus and the post-9/11 ‘securitization’ agenda. Complex Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes…
